El Tigre copyright Jorge Gutierrez and Sandra Equihua
The MASK copyright Dark Horse Comics/New Line Cinema
The MASK of Miracle City
Chapter 13: The Plan
Frida Lay Motionlessly On a Bed.
She Soon Awoke, Opening Her Eyes Slowly And Steadily...
Frida Then Shot Her Eyes Open In Shock Upon Realising She Wasn't In Her Room.
She Was In a Cold And Dark Room Made Of Metal, The Bed Was Just As Cold And When She Got Up, She Found She Had Energy Shackles Latched To Her Arms And Legs.
She Tried To Remove It, But It Shocked Her With Electricity.
"WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON! Exclaimed Frida
As If To Answer, The Metal Doors Of Her Cell Slide Open.
In Walk Dr. Chipotle Jr. And Senior Siniestro.
Frida's Fear Turns Into Rage.
"YOU!
She Begins To Charge At Them, But Chipotle Pressed a Button On His Arm Which Causes Frida's Shackles To Shock Her, Causing Her To Fall.
"Please Forgive Us For The HARSH TREATMENT, Frida...
But, You Really Left Us NO CHOICE In The Matter.
"Yeah, You were Getting So Vicious...We Had To RESTRAIN You Somehow.
Frida Glared At Them.
"Vicious?
YOU PUT MY MAMA & PAPI IN THE HOSPITAL!, HOW DO YOU EXPECT ME TO FEEL!
Frida Was About To Lunge AT Them Again But, Chipotle Neared His Finger To The Button, Prompting Frida To Stop.
"Believe Us, Frida...We Don't Want To Hurt You. Said Siniestro
"I Find That Hard To Believe.
Chipotle Smiles.
"Ahh, There's That WILD SPIRIT We Love So Much.
Chipotle Walked Up To Frida.
"Listen, Frida...Here Is The Deal.
We Both Desire You For Ourselves, But You Chose Manny, So That Makes Things Difficult.
"Oh?
"You Will Be Ours Frida, Even If We have To TAKE YOU BY FORCE!
Frida Eyed Him, Then Glanced At Siniestro.
"How Can Both Of You Have Me, Smart Guy!
Your Just TWO DUMMIES, And I'm Only ONE GIRL!
"We Have Already Solved That Problem. Said Siniestro
Chipotle Jr. Snickered Evily.
"We Are Going to CLONE YOU!
"C-C-CLONE ME!
"Yes, We Will Create Altered Clones Of You That'll Be Idea For Us Both.
"And What Will Happen To Me?
"Well, Cloning Is An IMPERFECT SCIENCE...
The Process Of DUplicating Your DNA Could Be FATAL.
"FATAL!
YOu MEAN IT'LL KILL ME?
"Well, If You Chose ONE OF US Instead Of Rivera, It Wouldn't Have To Come To That!
But, It's Like We Said...If WE CAN'T HAVE YOU, NO ONE WILL...
Besides, We Find Altered Frida Clones ALOT BETTER.
Frida Growled AT Them.
She Then Gave Chipotle a Swift Kick Between The Legs, Which Made a Loud "CRACK" Sound
Chipotle Fell To his Knees In Pain.
"You CAN GO AHEAD AND CLONE ME ALL YOU WANT!
But, I Would Rather Die Than Spend The Rest Of My Life With a Bunch Of Crazy Freaks Like You!
Besides, The Joke Will Be On You...It Doesn't Matter If You Make 1001 Clones Of Me...
They Will NEVER BE ME, And You Know It! There Is Only ONE FRIDA SUAREZ...And She Loves MANNY RIVERA.
"Maybe You'll Change Your Mind Once Rivera Is NO MORE. Said Chipotle Jr.
"YOU KEEP AWAY FROM MANNY!
"Don't Need To, Chikka...He'll Come To Us. Said Siniestro
Frida Grins.
"He's Gonna KICK YOUR BUTTS!
"Hardly.
The Two Villains Leave Frida In Her Cell Frida Growls Under Her Breath, Anger Was Ebbing Away At Her...But, There Was Also Traces Of Fear.
But Not Fear For Herself.
"manny...
[Meanwhile, In The Miracle City Streets]
The Maskmobile Tore Through The City Streets At High Speed.
Though It Seemed As If They Were Going Somewhere, Manny Started Feel Like They Were Going In Circles.
"Are You SURE You Know Where You Going?
Mask Was Busing Reading a Map Upside-Down.
"Sure, I'm Sure...Why Do You Ask?
"Oh, Gee...I Don't Know.
Maybe Because WE'VE PASSED BY THE MAYAN ARCADE SEVENTEEN TIMES JUST NOW!
"Really?, I Count Twenty-Five.
"OKAY, THAT'S IT!
"What?
"STOP THE CAR!
The Car Stops.
The Two Teens Get Out.
Manny Looks Back Top See Blazing Tire Tracks That Are Circling a Large, Singular Area.
"MASK, YOU'VE BEEN DRIVING IN CIRCLES!
"Oh, So I Have...
Mask Looks At The Map Again.
"Ya' Know, I Think I Should Of Taken a DIFFERENT TURN AT ALBUQUERQUE...I Really Should've.
Manny Slaps Himself In The Face.
Mask Then Throws Away The Map.
"Okay, It's Official...We're Lost.
"LOST?
WE CAN'T BE LOST!, WHAT ABOUT FRIDA!
Mask Thinks a Bit.
"Okay, Here's The Thing...
Two Supervillains Have Kidnapped The Police Chief's Daughter And, We OBVIOUSLY DON'T KNOW WHERE THEY ARE...
"I ALREADY KNOW THAT!
"So, WE DON'T KNOW WHAT WE WANT TO KNOW, AND OTHER PEOPLE DON'T KNOW, EITHER...
BUT, SOMEONE In THE CITY MUST KNOW SOMETHING WE DON'T KNOW THAT WE WANNA KNOW So...We Just Gotta FIND SOMEONE WHO KNOWS And GET THEM TO TELL US WHAT WE WANNA KNOW That Way, WE'LL KNOW WHAT WE WANNA KNOW THAT WE DON'T KNOW RIGHT NOW...YA' KNOW.
Manny Stared At Mask.
"Huh?
Mask Grins.
"Translation: WE NEED A SNITCH.
"Oh...Well, Why Didn't You Just Say So?
"I Did Say So.
"BUT, YO-
Oh, Forget It.
Later, El Tigre & The Mask Reach Calavera, a Good Place To Start Looking For Villains.
The Two Teens Burst Into The Bar, Tigre Baring His Claws And Mask Holding a Mallet.
"ALRIGHT, VILLAINS!
WHAT DO YOU KNOW OF ABOUT FRIDA SUAREZ'S KISNAPPING! Demanded Manny
"Other Than The Fact DR. CHIPOTLE JR. AND SENIOR SINIESTRO Did It?...Not Much. Said a Random Crook
"WHERE ARE THEY!
"We Don't Know...But We Know Where YOUR GOING: STRAIGHT TO YOUR DOOM!
a Gang Of Thugs Surrounded El Tigre And Mask.
"I Don't Suppose You Have a PLAN B? Said Mask Bluntly
Manny Drew Out His Claws.
"ATTACK!
Manny Leaped Into The Gang Of Criminals.
"Not Very Strategic...But, I'll Take It.
Mask Joined In The Fight.
As Manny Slashed And Grappel Punched The Villains, Mask Was More "Creative"...
Aside From Wacking The Thugs On The Head With His Mallet, He Also Used "LAUGHING GAS" On Them.
Eventually, All The Villains and Criminals Were Defeated.
"Well, That Was Fun...Too bad It Was All a Waste. Said Mask
Manny Grumbled.
He Walked Off Silently, Then Punched a Wall HARD.
"WE'LL NEVER FIND HER AT THIS RATE!
Mask Smiled.
"You Kinda Like Her Dontcha?
"OF COURSE I LIKE HER!, SHE'S MY BEST FRIEND!
Mask Slinked Over To Manny.
"No, I Mean "LIKE" HER...
Manny Soon Got What Mask Was getting To.
"W-WHAT!
I DO NOT!
"DO SO!
"I AM NOT IN LOVE WITH HER!
"Manny And Frida Sitting In a Tree... K-I-Something, Something, Uhhhh...X-Y-Z!
"SHUT UP!
Manny Was About To Clobber His "Partner", Until He Spotted a Shady Crook Spying Them.
"HEY, YOU!
The Crook Ran.
"STOP HIM!
"I'LL GET 'EM!
Mask Sprouts Springy Shoes And Bounces After Him.
He Pounces On The Crook And Knocks Him Out Cold.
"GNFY: Good-Night For You, HA! HA! HAAAAAAAA!
Mask & El Tigre Bring The Crook Outside.
They Splash Some Water On Him, Thus Waking Him Up.
"WHAT THE HE-
Manny Presses The Razor Tip Of his Claw Against The Criminal's Neck.
"What Do You Know Of Chipotle & Siniestro?
"You Won't Get a Word Outta Me.
"SO YOU DO KNOW!
WHERE ARE THEY, WHERE IS FRIDA!
"I Ain't No Squealer.
Mask Has Himself a Crazed Laugh.
"Oh, PUH-LEEZE!
I Know Who You Are...
Mask Pulls Out a Police Report.
"Your JOEY "THE WEASEL" JACKSON!
You Are a WELL KNOWN SNITCH, You Sell Your Grandmama's Walking Cane For a Buck!
Mask Pulls Out a Walking Cane.
"Which Would Explain Where I Got THIS THING...
"TELL US WHERE FRIDA IS!
Weasel Just Grins.
"Oooh, This Must Be The Part Where I Get So Scared I CRY... Said Weasel Sarcasticly
Manny Was ABout To Pound The Crook's Face Into The Pavement, But Mask Stopped Him.
"Let me Try.
Mask Grabs Weasel And Walks Him a Few Feet Away From Manny.
"Look, Mask...
If You Let me Go free, I'l Pay You...Just Name Your Price.
"Zero Dollars And No Cents...
Mask Laughs a Bit.
"LOOK PAL!, I Ain't Scared.
I've Been At This Game Long Enough To Resist Any Kind Of Torture.
Mask Grins a Wide, Joker-Eque Smile.
"Oh, But You've NEVER MET ANYONE LIKE ME BEFORE.
Mask Starts To Laugh Sinisterly, Freaking Weasil Out a Little.
[Several Minutes Later]
"OKAY!, OKAY!
I'LL TALK!, JUST STOP IT! Shrieked Weasel
Mask Brings a Shaking Weasil Back To Manny.
"What Did You DO To Him? Asked Manny
"Trust Me, Tigger...Your Better Off NOT KNOWING. Said Mask
Mask Tossed Weasel Over To Manny.
"Go On...Tell Him What You Told Me.
Weasel Flinched At Mask, Then Spoke Up.
"Chipotle and Siniestro Are At a Secret Base On The Outskirts Of Town, In The Desert.
It's Hidden From Prying Eyes By An Invisible Force Field And Protected By ROBOTS & MUTANTS.
"How Do We Find It?
"If You have Special Stealth Scanners, You Can Easily Detect It's Location...That's The EASY PART.
The HARD PART Is SURVIVING THERE SECURITY...And, BOY DO THEY GOT ALOT OF SECURITY!
"Let Us Worry About That.
"There's One Other Thing. Said Weasel
"What?
"Chipotle and Siniestro Are Expecting You, El Tigre.
I'm Not Quite Sure What, But They Have Someing BAD Waiting For You When You get there...
"I Knew It... Said Manny
"Wait!, Are They Expecting Mask To SHow Up?
"No...
"Good.
Then I've Got An Advantage.
Mask Grinned.
"One Last Question: What Are They Doing With Frida?
"Chipotle & Siniestro Swore Frida Would Be Theres...Even If They Have To Take Her BY FORCE.
I'm Not EXactly SUre How, But There Are Rumors Going On About CLONING.
Manny Was Startled.
"C-CLONING?
"Yeah, And That's All I Know.
Mask Walks Up To Him.
"You Do Well, Weasel...
But Now, Your Usefullness Is Over.
Mask Pulls Out a Purple & Green Gun And Points It At Weasel.
"NO!, PLEASE DON'T!
"3...2...1...good-bye.
Mask Pulls The Trigger, Weasel Flinches.
But Instead Of Bullets, a Metal Rod WIth a Flag That Reads "BANG!" Pops Out.
"PSYCE!
HA! HA! HAAAAAAAAAA!
Weasel Sighs With Relief.
But Mask Grins Wider As Her Pulls The Trigger Again...
THIS TIME, The Gun Shoots a Stream Of Green Gas That Engulfs Weasel
Weasel Struggles To Catch His Breath.
As The Gas Disappears, Weasel Is Still...
Then, He Begins To Laugh Wildly With a Wide Grin Frozen On His Face.
"Criminals Today Are WAY TOO GLOOMY...You Need To Have a LAUGH, Once In Awhile.
Weasel Continues To Laugh, Until He's Out Cold.
"Is He?
"Naw...He's Still Alive.
His Jaw Will HURT LIKE HECK In The Morning, But He'll Be Okay.
Mask Called His Car Over To Them.
"Now, LET'S GO SAVE YOUR GIRLFRIEND!
"SHE IS NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!
"not yet...
Mask And El Tigre Get In The Maskmobile And Race For Dr. Chipotle Jr. And Senior Siniestro's Desert Base, Ready For a Battle.